Four teddy bears voyaged to the edge of space on Monday December 1st as an experiment run by Cambridge University Spaceflight, with the SPARKS science club at Parkside Community College and Coleridge Community College. The bears were lifted to 30,085 metres above sea level on a latex high altitude balloon filled with helium. The aim of the experiment was to determine which materials provided the best insulation against the -53 Â° C temperatures experienced during the journey. Each of the bears wore a different space suit designed by the 11-13 year olds from SPARKS.

The payload which carried the bears was designed by Cambridge University Spaceflight and contained several cameras, a flight computer, GPS and a radio. During the 2 hour and 9 minute flight, the radio broadcasted the location of the payload to a chase team on the ground. The team predicted the landing site using wind speed data and arrived in time to see the payload and teddy bears drift slowly back down to earth by parachute. The teddies landed in a field 4 miles north east of Ipswich.
â€œWe want to offer young people the opportunity to get involved in the space industry whilst still at school and show that real-life science is something that is open to everybodyâ€